PTC PUSH FACES TOUGH TAX EXTENDERS BATTLE: Sen. Mark Udall’s effort to notch up a big energy win could leave him feeling like Sen. Mary Landrieu did on Monday. After the push to put the Keystone XL pipeline up for a vote died on the Senate floor, a crucial tax extenders bill that includes a Udall-backed two-year extension for a wind energy tax credit is facing an uncertain future. Once again the fight is over the Republican effort to offer amendments, which Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid may block as he did on the energy efficiency legislation that collapsed Monday. That bill’s demise sunk Keystone backers’ attempt to get a vote to approve the pipeline project. Darren Goode explains it all: http://politico.pro/1mXeGdf

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SPEAKING OF SHAHEEN-PORTMAN — WHAT CAN BROWN DO FOR YOU? The Huffington Post, citing an anonymous source, reported Tuesday that Scott Brown personally lobbied Senate Republican leaders to prevent a vote on the energy efficiency legislation sponsored Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, whom the former Massachusetts senator is looking to unseat this fall. Brown campaign communications director Elizabeth Guyton would not confirm the report last night, but did not dispute it. “Scott Brown was concerned that Senator Shaheen was refusing to allow a vote on the Keystone pipeline, a commonsense and bipartisan project that would immediately create thousands of jobs and lessen our dependence on foreign oil,” Guyton said in a statement. She declined to comment further.

TURKISH MINE DISASTER KILLS AT LEAST 201, TRAPS HUNDREDS: Via the BBC: “An explosion at a coal mine in western Turkey has left at least 201 workers dead and scores injured, officials say. Energy Ministry Taner Yildiz said 787 people had been inside the mine at Soma in Manisa province when an electrical fault triggered the blast. Rescuers worked through the night to try to reach hundreds more miners still trapped underground. … Mr Yildiz said that carbon monoxide poisoning had claimed many lives. Oxygen was being pumped into the mine to help those still trapped, he added.” http://bbc.in/QGcYlt

TWO DEAD AT WEST VIRGINIA COAL MINE: Two miners died Monday night in an accident at a West Virginia coal mine that is one of just a few mines nationwide to end up on a stepped-up federal enforcement list. The miners were performing “retreat mining,” during which they back out of the mine while removing pillars of coal used to hold up the roof, when they were caught in a sudden release. The mine recently was cited by the Mine Safety and Health Administration for a "pattern of violations," meaning regulators can shut down parts of the mine following future violations. It's unclear whether any of the violations in question are related to the roof collapse. More from the Charleston Gazette: http://bit.ly/1jpVkt8

ADMINISTRATION STUDYING LIFTING OIL EXPORT BAN — MONIZ: The Obama administration is considering lifting a ban on crude oil exports, Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz told reporters yesterday following a conference in Seoul. "The issue of crude oil exports is under consideration,” Moniz said, according to the Wall Street Journal. “A driver for this consideration is that the nature of the oil we're producing may not be well matched to our current refinery capacity." Several agencies are studying the idea, he added. WSJ: http://on.wsj.com/1opznCe

PRIMARY RESULTS: The candidates in West Virginia and Nebraska flagged by ME yesterday all made it through their primaries. Shelley Moore Capito and Natalie Tennant will run for the Senate, while Nick Rahall survived a primary challenger to face Republican Evan Jenkins. And in Nebraska, Rep. Lee Terry had 54 percent of the vote to challenger Dan Frei’s 46 percent when the AP called the race shortly before midnight. Those numbers could bolster Democrats hoping to exploit unhappy GOP voters to oust Terry this fall.

AEA ADS ATTACK UDALL ON KXL: The American Energy Alliance is dropping $405,450 on television ads in the Denver and Colorado Springs markets hitting Sen. Mark Udall for “siding with Washington lobbyists and special interests to kill” the Keystone XL pipeline. Udall has been careful not to stake out a position on the pipeline itself, though he opposes GOP attempts to step in and approve the pipeline via congressional means. The ads run through May 23. The spot: http://youtu.be/f96ihvmI-Qc. Fact sheet: http://bit.ly/1gC4qDr

GAS INDUSTRY HAPPY WITH OBAMA INFRASTRUCTURE PUSH: President Barack Obama will visit the Tappan Zee Bridge in New York today to push for more federal spending on infrastructure projects and highlight his administration’s work to streamline permitting — but the natural gas industry is pretty pleased as well. “We applaud the Administration’s effort to improve permitting processes for infrastructure projects, by cutting timelines, reducing red tape, and promoting transparency through a modernized process,” American Gas Association President and CEO Dave McCurdy said in a statement.

SIERRA CLUB BACKS BENISHEK CHALLENGER: The Sierra Club's Michigan chapter today will endorse Jerry Cannon, a Democrat running against Rep. Dan Benishek (R-Mich.), a top target for Democrats hoping to pick up the seat. Benishek won 48.1 percent of the vote in 2012, just 0.5 percent ahead of the Democratic challenger. Cannon is a retired Army general and former sheriff. “General Cannon believes strongly in the power of clean, renewable energy like wind and solar, and wants to see Michigan’s burgeoning clean energy economy continue to grow in his district,” said Mike Berkowitz, political and legislative director for the state’s Sierra Club.

GREEN GROUPS GO AFTER CHEMICALS, FORESTRY INDUSTRIES OVER GREEN BUILDING STANDARDS: The Sierra Club and Greenpeace today will launch Greenwash Action, “the first time that major environmental groups are really tackling greenwashing in the green building sector,” executive director Jason Grant said. He said the effort is needed to undercut efforts by the chemical, forestry and other industries to weaken green building standards. In recent years, five states have adopted new criteria enhancing the use of an alternative industry-backed Green Globes alternative. There is also similar bipartisan language in the dormant Shaheen-Portman efficiency bill. The General Services Administration last November also for the first time recognized both standards as complying with green codes for federal buildings. The initial Greenwash Action volley is an open letter ( http://bit.ly/1g4inPw) to the Green Building Initiative, which develops the U.S. Green Globes standard, as well as a report outlining the long tussle in developing green building codes: http://bit.ly/1nGtuk2

W.H.: HUNTER BIDEN’S NEW GIG NOT ENDORSEMENT OF UKRAINIAN COMPANY: White House Press Secretary Jay Carney says Hunter Biden’s new job with the Ukrainian gas producer Burisma Holdings is no endorsement of the company. “Hunter Biden and other members of the Biden family are obviously private citizens and where they work does not reflect an endorsement by the administration or by the vice president or president,” Carney said. More on Biden’s new gig: http://politico.pro/1qBmC9G

CATS ASK FOR IT BY NAME: Reuters reports: “Kitty litter used to absorb liquid in radioactive debris may have triggered a chemical reaction that caused a radiation leak at a below-ground U.S. nuclear waste storage site in New Mexico, a state environmental official said on Tuesday.” http://reut.rs/1jZuOeJ

** Protect the sage-grouse and our American West. The Bureau of Land Management must act now to help the sage-grouse and other western wildlife, including elk, mule deer, pronghorn, and golden eagles. Let’s keep the West wild: www.pewtrusts.org/sage-grouse. **

RUBIO: POLICY WON’T STOP WEATHER: Sen. Marco Rubio declined to say Tuesday what reports or studies he used in deciding that human activity is not driving changes in the climate, a position he discussed during a broader ABC interview on Sunday. “If we ban all coal in the U.S., if we ban all carbon emissions in the United States, will it change the dramatic changes in climate and these dramatic weather impacts that we’re now reading about? And anyone who says that we will is not being truthful,” Rubio said at the National Press Club. He added that “there are things we can do to be better stewards of the energy resources that we have like natural oil and gas.” Video, via ClimateProgress: http://bit.ly/1sqUf9O

FROM ME’S MAILBAG: Sen. Ed Markey wants to know what the Interior Department is doing to beef up its inspections and oversight of oil and gas activities on public lands following Monday's GAO report concluding the Bureau of Land Management did not inspect over half of the wells deemed high priority. (Refresher: http://politico.pro/1v1piNN). Letter: http://1.usa.gov/ROraKy

ENERGY STARTUPS VIE FOR PRIZES: The 1776 Challenge Cup, an international competition for startups in energy, education, health and "smart cities" and backed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other groups, held its energy gala last night at the Heurich House in Dupont Circle. Sixteen energy startups from around the world are competing for $650,000 in prizes.

QUICK HITS

— Delays in considering Keystone XL are bolstering plans for an oil pipeline to Canada's east coast. Bloomberg: http://bloom.bg/1gBf25g

— A government-backed military research group says climate change is a major risk to national security. New York Times: http://nyti.ms/1lvM3nM

— The Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission names a longtime employee as the state's new oil and gas supervisor. Star-Tribune: http://bit.ly/1jcZyKt

— A North Dakota oil well named "Ron Burgundy 3-23-14H" continues to leak oil, gas and fracking fluids. AP: http://bit.ly/1mnYsLE

— Florida Gov. Rick Scott and his Cabinet have approved NextEra-owned Florida Power & Light to build two nuclear reactors in south Florida, though the project is not a done deal. AP: AP: http://bit.ly/1lbL1M4

— The Center for Western Priorities has a new interactive map plotting details of more than 13,000 oil and gas-related spills in Colorado and New Mexico since 2000: http://bit.ly/1iK63P4

NOW LIVE: Pro Cybersecurity — A new coverage area from POLITICO Pro dedicated to delivering the latest cybersecurity news and regulatory developments. Did you know that data breaches cost to a U.S. organizations $6 million a year on average? Stay up to date on what’s being done about it with Pro Cybersecurity. Know what the #ProsKnow by emailing us at Ene.Info@politicopro.com.

ALSO OUT TODAY: POLITICO’s newest series Beyond the NSA, launching in conjunction with Pro Cybersecurity, examines the unchecked expansion of private sector data collection and the implications for consumer privacy. Think the NSA is only unregulated organization? Think again. Don’t miss the first must-read story on the failed efforts to regulate how the private sector collects, uses and sells data: http://politi.co/1jfeqIi

THAT’S ALL FOR ME. See you tomorrow.

** Protect the sage-grouse and our American West: Much of the iconic western sagebrush habitat has been lost or degraded in recent decades, but the Bureau of Land Management can act now to keep the West wild. BLM is creating management plans to guide habitat conservation for the sage-grouse and other wildlife, including elk, mule deer, pronghorn, golden eagles, and hundreds of other species. Join us in asking President Obama, Interior Secretary Jewell, BLM officials, and Western state governors to work together to balance responsible growth and energy development with protecting wildlife and our wild landscapes. Learn more: www.pewtrusts.org/sage-grouse **

**A message from the U.S. Chamber’s Global Energy Institute: Today, America’s diverse energy resources are providing abundant, reliable and affordable electricity that is critical to our economy. Unfortunately, that mix is at risk. A new report by IHS Markit cosponsored by the Global Energy Institute explains just how important a diverse set of resources really is. Our current energy mix, including nuclear and coal, is saving us $114 billion per year in electricity costs—lowering the average price by 27%. Without all of our resources, America could lose 1 million jobs within 3 years and $158 billion in GDP, and each American household could see a loss of up to $845 in income each year. To read the report and learn more about how a balanced set of electricity resources is key to our economy and security, click here: http://bit.ly/2huaJ4F **

About The Author

Alex Guillén is an energy reporter for POLITICO Pro, where he covers EPA, regulations and coal, as well as lobbying and campaign finance in the energy realm. He previously wrote the Morning Energy newsletter. He graduated from the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Va., with a degree in anthropology and English. He is an avid reader and TV binger. The Delawarean, thrilled that there are finally Capriotti’s outposts in Washington, lives in Alexandria, Va.